I totally forgot about this delicious Holiday treat until I saw someone talk about it and I remembered I had shared it years ago on the blog. It’s so good and I think I’ll make a batch this weekend. I can’t believe I forgot about this one, so I hope you enjoy it all over again too!
My Christmas was not going to be complete until I tried this yummy treat, so I got all the ingredients together and whipped up a batch.
They did NOT disappoint. I found the recipe from Shannan over at Flower Patch Farmgirl. She’s a sweetheart and once I read her post on this delectable dessert, Salted Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Bark, that cinched the deal for me. I’ll do a step by step for you on how I made them. She had also linked to a post she found on Pinterest, so you can check that one out too. These things just fly around the internet, don’t they? Shannan had me really laughing when she called it Crack Bark. OK, I think I need to try this stuff. Thanks Shannan, for pushing me over the edge! 🙂 I would have to agree with her after making it.
Here’s my version:
Line pan with foil, cover both sides and ends. Key to peeling the foil off when it freezes. Layer pretzels. Get mini-pretzels, mine are a little bigger.
Melt butter
Add one cup brown sugar. Stir to a boil, keep stirring.
It will bubble and get browner and browner.
And turn into a gooey, sticky, caramelly delight.
Pour over pretzels.
Like this!  Bake 5 minutes.
Add big bag of chocolate chips.
They will melt if you do this right out of the oven. Smoosh and cover all the pretzels and caramel, or as much as you can. Sprinkle with sea salt. Liberally!
Freeze and then peel off foil and break apart. Enjoy this lip-smacking delicious treat!
Chocolate Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark
1 bag mini pretzels (I got medium ones, but mini would work better)
2 sticks real butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 bag chocolate chips (12 oz. I think is the larger bag)
Sea Salt
Line a 4 sided jelly roll pan with foil. Be sure that foil goes up over each side and end. This helps the foil come off easier when you freeze the caramel & chocolate. I had to peel a bit of foil off in bits to get it all off, but covering all sides should help.
Melt 2 sticks of butter in saucepan. Add one cup brown sugar and stir together. Boil just a little and keep stirring until it gets darker. Shannon notes, you want to let it cook just to the point that you think you may have ruined everything.
Pour over pretzels. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately throw on the chocolate chips. The heat will melt them, then scrape your rubber spatula over them to spread around.
Sprinkle liberally with sea salt. More might be better if you love the delicate balance of sweet vs. salty. Yes!
Cool a bit on the counter, then pop into the freezer for an hour or so. Break apart into bite sized pieces.
Enjoy and tell everyone how great it is if you make it!! This is definitely a keeper for me. I love sweet and salty treats and I thought you just might like a little something extra to make for New Year’s.Â
You know, alongside those black-eyed peas and greens. 🙂
Tess says
Rhoda! Happy New Year and thanks so much for posting this. I’ll definitely be trying it this week!
Nina says
Shoot. Just when I thought I was done with making sweets for a while! This looks so good I think I might go make some right now….Happy New Year!
Cyndia says
You can bet I’ll be making this for the Bunco gals later this month! I might even need to make two batches; one for me and one for them! YUM!
Kathy, Petticoat Junktion says
My mouth is watering. I would make them right now if I had the stuff!! Found you through The Shabby Nest, Kathy, Petticoat Junktion
Beth@A2Z says
These look so yummy and so easy…a winning combination in my book!
Msturg says
These were yummy! I did use the small pretzels. But I wasn’t sure how long(could you estimate–5min,etc..) to cook the butter and brown sugar. Mine never really turned brown but I think I cooked it to long since it was more “praline” like. Of course, no one really cared as they devoured it:) but next time I will try a less cooking time because I think they will be more caramelly(not really a word but…) . Thank you!!!!
Mel says
These look delish! What is the measurement of butter? We have big blocks of butter not sticks. Thanks…can’t wait to try them!
Susan Foster says
We call this Christmas Crack because it is so addictive. It’s great with saltines too!
Anonymous says
Do you think we can replace the pretzels with nuts like cashews or walnuts?
Rhoda says
I don’t see why you couldn’t. Just layer those instead of pretzels. Should turn out great!
krista says
Can you freeze this after it is broken apart? I have mine in cello bags inside the fridge but would like to freeze it for Christmas.
Rhoda says
Krista, I haven’t tried freezing, but I don’t see why not. I know that the pretzels do tend to get stale after a week or so if they are not all eaten.
SharKB says
I make this every Christmas and for some reason, this year, the bark stuck to my parchment paper, I had to reheat it for a couple minutes to get it off but then it was no longer bark, it was clumps. What did I do wrong? Possibly not melt the sugar to a certain temp, it was blended well with the butter and syrup like, temp was correct and so was time in oven, left it at room temp to cool, then refrigerate, help please.
Rhoda says
HI, Shar, so sorry, I’m not sure what could have gone wrong because it’s always worked fine for me and I haven’t had it stick like that. Can you still break it apart? Mine was broken apart after cooling I think.
Dana Mc says
I enjoy making this also. I fill cute containers every year with homemade fudge, cookies and other treats for my neighbors and they are always a big hit. Thanks for sharing again.